Was wondering what other examples of "midnight" engineering are out there?

For example, the other night an intense electrical storm passed over a TV translator site I help maintain.
The site took a direct hit causing 2 UPS units to go into permanent bypass, killed the security alarm panel, and curiously took out 2 GPS antennae (which are used to sync the digital TV translators).

After the storm passed I managed to cobble together a makeshift GPS antenna mounted on some plastic conduit (recently removed from a recently scrapped analogue TV transmitter). Strapped it to the fence, called it a night, and figured it was not a bad effort for 12am...

The one I remember is when our DAX-1 was having PA_BRIDGE faults. Knowing we needed to get a new module for it - and having none avail - i tried to coax the MW-1A into the antenna. No matter what I did - had no output. it was about 12:30-1:00 AM. Got frustrated, kicked the front panel. *bing* all the meters came up and it loaded int the antenna nicely. Tune it quicklike and let 'er buck until I got new part for the DAX-1.

Funny thing is - every time I load it into the antenna for a "test" - I haven't had to kick it. Maybe we just see eye to eye.

My mentor made the local newspaper for a repair he did on a Harris FM2.5H3. The plate cap for the final tube (5CX1500A) somehow became unusable. No spare copper strap around, so he cut a strap from a Pepsi can. Lugged the high voltage lead to that strap, put it on the tube, and back on the air. As far as I know, that transmitter retired with the strap still in place.

This was around 1980. Back when Pepsi cans contained a more substantial amount of metal. I'm sure the same stunt with a modern Pepsi can would result in vaporized aluminum.

Oh, boy! Real steel soda and beer cans. Made a "beer can vertical" in the early 50's to try out on the ham bands. Spent a lot of time soldering them together.

One of our "tea totaling" Oklahoma neighbors complained to my dad that it was "not appropriate". Needless to say, It remained vertical until a really strong wind took it out many months later. I must say, it was rather picturesque with all the different brands prominently displayed.

Even the newer lightweight aluminum cans can be re-purposed into useful material. One of my uncles made birdhouses modeled on real old style classic buildings making door hinges,etc out of the easily shaped aluminum.

Bob, I remember reading about beer can verticals in QST a long time ago but then forgot about them until years later when I read somewhere about Beverage antennas---which I thought were one and the same until I looked them up in an ARRL Antenna book!

A long-since-retired WSMV engineer once cut the top off a Pepsi can, then cut the top half of the can into strips. Bent them out straight at a 90deg angle to the rest of the can. Twisted them a few degrees. Drilled a hole in the bottom. Ran a clothes hanger through it & hung it from the ceiling.

We were having trouble with the ventilation fan kicking off. If the Pepsi can stopped spinning... it was time to reset the breaker.